Alpari RU February Volumes Slump to $110.8 billion, down -22.7% MoM in Political Conflict

Alpari Russia (RU) has reported its monthly trading volumes for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) during February, having dropped to $110.8 billion (-22.7% MoM) from $136 billion in January, according to an Alpari company statement.

The Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term broker presently serves a seemingly expansive clientele – Alpari RU has been a shining example amongst forex brokers in recent months, given its recent strong January volumes which came in at $136 billion to start the year. This most recent month saw volumes wane to $110.8 billion however, returning to December 2013 levels.

Alpari Director Weighs in on Decline

There are likely several factors explaining the decline and according to Vladislav Kovalchuk, Director of Marketing at Alpari in a statement on the metrics, "In the last month there were two fundamental factors causing traders to either decrease their trading volume or else stay away from the market altogether. The first was the release of macro-statistics from the USA revealing unexpectedly weak dynamics, giving rise to uncertainty in the market. The second factor is Russia's charged political conflict over Ukraine, the implications of which are forcing investors into behaving carefully until the situation is clarified."

In addition, Alpari RU’s most widely traded currency pairs during the month of February included the EUR/USD ($46.3 billion), the GBP/USD ($28.9 billion) and the USD/JPY ($8.8 billion) across Russia and the CIS. It is unclear how the lingering crisis in Ukraine will effect volumes moving forward, however any further escalation towards war could certainly instigate widespread Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term in the currency markets.